Summary
Welcome to our July spending post! Our total spend for the month was £5,042 or $6,049.
Our July spending was quite high across the board. This is because we spent most of the month back in the UK! Mr Way was back for 2 weeks, with Mrs Way and Baby Way staying for 4. It was great to see family and friends and experience some of the hottest UK weather ever!
With everything being so expensive in the Caribbean, we took the opportunity to fill our suitcases with cheaper clothes, food, toys etc. It made July very expensive, but will save us a fortune over the next few months!
We break our main expenses down into broad categories starting with the big 3; housing, food and transport. Everything else falls into the entertainment category, with any large inclusions explained in detail.
| Category | Amount (£) | Amount ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | £2,416 | $2,899 | See below |
| Food | £876 | $1,051 | See below |
| Transport | £403 | $483 | See below |
| Entertainment/misc | £1,347 | $1,616 | See below |
| Total ($) | $6,049 | ||
| Total (£) | £5,042 | ||
We break each of these categories down in the following sections, giving detail for any large expenses.
Housing
Our July spending should be fairly standard for this category. Our rent is going up in November, but until then we’re hoping to keep the bills low by not using the air con!
| Category | Amount ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | $2,650 | |
| Water & Electricity | $138 | |
| Internet | $111 | |
| Total ($) | $2,899 | |
| Total (£) | £2,416 |
Food
Our July spending on food was £876/$1,051. As explained previously, this includes everything on our supermarket shop receipts for the month.
As mentioned above, lots of stocking up occurred this month, which will hopefully reduce the totals for coming months!
Transport
In July we had to pay for an unfortunate mistake! Miss Way reversed our car into our neighbour’s car. We were quite worried about how much it would cost to repair our bumper, but $350 didn’t seem too bad in the end. Our neighbour has very kindly not asked us to repair his (yet)!
We also bought some temporary insurance for while we were in the UK, as well as a train journey for a day trip to York!
| Category | Amount ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | $50 | |
| Train | $46 | |
| Car Repair | $350 | |
| Car Insurance (Temp) | $37 | |
| Total ($) | $483 | |
| Total (£) | £403 |
Entertainment/Misc
Our July spending in this category is increased due to more eating out and stocking up on ‘stuff’! We can be forgiven for the eating out because we were on holiday and we’re pretty excited about some of the things we bought, in particular a bike seat so Baby Way can come out on trips with us!
| Category | Amount ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| UK Phone Bills | $14 | |
| Student Loan | $203 | |
| Eating Out | $285 | |
| Presents | $65 | |
| Amazon | $103 | |
| Clothes | $360 | |
| Sun Cream | $35 | |
| Nappies | $34 | |
| Glasses | $83 | |
| Book | $1 | |
| Hair Cut | $11 | |
| Pharmacy | $12 | |
| Boat Trip | $30 | |
| Party | $270 | |
| Day Trip | $50 | |
| Bike Seat | $60 | |
| Total ($) | $1,616 | |
| Total (£) | £1,347 |
That’s All for Now, Folks!
Considering the average US household spend is $5,111 we’re very happy with our spending, considering we’re on a very high cost of living island! Long may that continue.
See you next month!